A New Beginning

“… there was evening and there was morning, one day.” Gen. 1:5

In the Bible, the new day begins with the approach of evening, and the year begins with the approach of autumn. The Church year also parallels the life of Mary. As Theotokos, the one who bore God, she is the icon of the Church, the “Body of Christ”. (I Cor. 12:27) The year ended shortly after the celebration of her dormition on August 15 and begins right before her nativity on September 8.

This month’s greatest feast, the Elevation of the Cross, also echoes the theme of renewal. At the beginning of the year, we Christians make our official rededication to the crucified and risen Lord. The festal troparion, “O Lord, Save Thy People”, was the national anthem of the Christian empires. On this day we make our pledge of allegiance to our Lord Jesus Christ by the adoration of His holy feet nailed to the Life-giving Cross.

Religious Education 2024 – 2025

September also marks the beginning of a new school year. With church school classes resuming on September 15th, we humbly appeal to every member of our parish to deepen his or her commitment to Christian education. Remember the words of Fr. Alexander Schmemann: The aim of all religious teaching is to integrate the person into the life of the Church, i.e. the life of grace, love, communion with God, unity and spiritual progress.

Parents and godparents: please make every effort to see that the children entrusted to you by Almighty God have the opportunity to regularly attend the church school program and actively participate in the whole experience of Church life.

To all members of St. Nicholas: Doesn’t a haphazard and sporadic attendance reveal to our children and youth that we really don’t take our faith too seriously? Isn’t example the best teacher? Deepening our own love and commitment and increasing our knowledge of the faith provides the greatest possible witness to all those around us.

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